This is supposed to be me:

My TeachForIndia Classroom

Academic Projects

ProjectsThere are a few projects that I had completed during and after graduation.My interests in these were purely to expose myself (and others) to various technologies and systems.
Here is a brief description of these in reverse chronological order:

Expert speaker/Consultant at Learning Center,Laboratory for Applied Research in ElectronicsFebruary 2008 to Present, India
Team
Size (incl. me): 1
I have been accumulating valuable experience and knowledge in the field of electronic product design while working at the Research Center. I regularly share this knowledge and experience with the students during the various courses conducted by the Learning Center. I also serve as a consultant to the learning center by providing them guidance in improving their teaching methodologies. I play a major role in the development of the technical content of the various courses. Thus by being involved in major activities of both the Research and Learning Center of LARE, allows me to bridge the gap between the industry and academia. I, along with the Learning Center team ensure that the students who undergo the various courses at LARE Learning Center are better equipped to handle the challenges that they will face when they become a part of the electronics industry workforce.

FabLab Links SiteAugust 2010, India
Team
Size (incl. me): 1
I got acquainted with the FabLab program while collaborating on a few projects with Dhananjay V. Gadre (Professor at NSIT, Delhi and Director of FabLab Delhi). After attending FAB5 in Pune in August 2010, I setup this site to help FabLabbers all around the world to be in better touch with each other. This site is actually a sorted index to all things FabLab created by FabLabbers worldwide.

Adaptation of the book “The 8051 Microcontroller 3rd edition” for the Indian Sub-continentMarch 2008 to May 2009, India
Team
Size (incl. me): 2“The
8051 Microcontroller” is a classic textbook written by Kenneth Ayala which is prescribed
by many universities all around the world for undergraduate courses in
electronics engineering. Our work involved the addition of up-to-date material
to the textbook - such as chapters on Embedded C programming and newer high
speed/feature rich 8051 variants. We also added a collection of projects and
improved the existing material into a more user friendly form. The project was a
collaborative work between Professor Dhananjay V.
Gadre (ECE Division, NSIT, Delhi) and me. The publishers are
Cengage Learning (formerly Thomson Learning). This revised and updated Indian
edition has been titled “The 8051 Microcontroller & Embedded Systems –
Using Assembly and C”. The book currently sells in excess of 10,000 copies a
year in the Indian Sub-continent. The book features the UNI-51-SDK and Small Device C Compiler. Book's companion site is maintained by me here.

Monitoring of remote
devices over GPRS using a Web interface2007-2008, India
Team Size (incl. me): 1
This project required remote monitoring of certain parameters of a charge controller (Model: TriStar, Manufactured by Morningstar Corp.) as it charged an array of lead acid batteries at a remote rural location. The batteries were used to power the equipment for a GSM Cell Site. The charging power was supplied using solar cells. The project involved fetching data (various parameters of the charge cycle) from the charge controller using the ModBus protocol and transferring this data to a web server using the GSM network itself. The web front-end was designed using PHP. MySQL was used as the database server. On the hardware side, two solution were suggested:

The first one involved the use of GM862 Series of GSM Modules made by Telit. These have a built-in TCP/IP Stack and a Python Interpreter. A Python script was created which ran inside the module and fetched the data from the charge controller using ModBus and transferred it to the web sever using GPRS. This implementation although beneficial in terms of reduced BOM Cost didn’t suit the client due to the inconvenient logistics (cost, import duty, legal formalities, and shipping time) involved in importing these modules into India from abroad.

The second solution - which was accepted for field trials – involved the used of a locally available GSM Modems which were based on SIM300 modules manufactured by SIMCom. Since these modules are not programmable, a custom PCB consisting of an ATmega128 microcontroller (which has Dual USARTs) and RS232 Level converters was designed to interface simultaneously to the GSM modem and the charge controller. The ModBus stack was implemented in the microcontroller using embedded C (avr-gcc was used as the compiler). The microcontroller sent AT commands to the modem to establish a TCP/IP connection to the Web Server over GPRS. HTTP was then used to transfer data to the server.

Two different sets of PHP scripts were created. The first set allowed the operator a graphical view of data for any of the multiple charge controllers installed at various remote locations from the convenience of his office. The second set was used by the microcontroller/GSM modem to insert the up-to-date data from the field into the MySQL database.
I was solely responsible for all aspects of the project until the first prototype release. Hence all tasks (PHP/Python/Embedded C programming and hardware design) were carried out by me.

Wireless collection of train maintenance data, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC)June 2006 to July 2006, India
Team Size (incl. me): 3
This project involved reliable wireless transmission of data from metro trains to transceivers placed up to 150 meters away. The project aimed to replace the wired RS232 link provided by the OEM with a wireless link that could handle data at 115200 baud and 9000 cps. We designed and successfully tested two solutions:

The first one involved the use of ZigBee modules. Protocol translation, buffering and framing were performed using a Mega128 controller of the AVR family.

The second solution involved the used of Serial Device Servers (Ethernet based) and WiFi Routers. Front-end PC software was required to maintain the list of trains within range and allow the operator to connect to any one of them by reconfiguring the Virtual COM Port Driver.

The second solution was accepted for implementation by DMRC. There were three members (Sneha & Ranjit) in the development team including myself.

Multi-Utility Sensor
Network (Submitted as thesis - Bachelor of Electronics)December
2005 to March 2006 (While at VESIT), IndiaTeam Size (incl. me): 13Designed
and successfully implemented a wired
sensor network capable of sensing and controlling physical parameters
involved in any kind of process control. The project involved connecting Atmel’s AVR Microcontrollers over the RS485
bus in a multi-drop configuration. The microcontrollers were programmed in
embedded C and the front-end was created using Java. The project was selected to be displayed in the Student’s
Pavilion at Elecrama 2006 held in Mumbai by IEEMA. Elecrama is one of the
largest biennial exhibitions of Electrical and Electronics products in the
world. The project was awarded Distinctive Excellence
at the Atmel AVR 06 Design Contest organized by Circuit Cellar (Entry/Abstract Link).An article decribing the project was published in Circuit Cellar 203 titled "Network of Keypads".
Reports: Hardware Design | Embedded Software Design | Host Software Design

India’s national TV broadcaster Doordarshan organizes the Doordarshan ROBOCON which is a national level robotics (Asian equivalent of the American FIRSTs) contest held every year; the winning team represents India at the pan Asia contest that follows (organized by Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union). I was a part of the team that represented our college at the national level for four consecutive years. We won the national contest in 2004 and our robots were sent to represent India at the Asian level contest held at Seoul, South Korea. We finished as quarter-finalists in both 2005 and 2006. As a part of the college team, I was responsible for designing the electronic hardware for the robots. In 2006 I was asked to lead the college team at the national contest. In 2007 I mentored the college team and we finished as semi-finalists at the National Contest.

Courses/Workshops/ExhibitionsCourses/Workshops/Exhibitions I have attended since graduation (2006):